Proposal to hike Manatee County impact fees moves to commission in December

MANATEE -- As seasonal traffic congestion returns to Manatee County and motorists start to complain about the increased traffic, revenue generated from increased county impact fees cannot be used to pay for infrastructure improvements, according to the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange executive director.

"We need to take a more holistic approach," Mary Dougherty-Slapp said Thursday. "Impact fees are not the panacea that are suddenly going to make life more bearable when these wonderful tourists that we love to invite come down to visit us. ... There is no way that this can solve all of the county's public infrastructure needs."

Developers and other representatives from the building industry objected to the proposed increase of county impact fees at Thursday's planning commission meeting, saying increased fees could slow economic recovery if people stop buying new homes.

But the planning commission, an advisory board to the county commission, unanimously voted that the impact fee ordinance update was consistent with the county's Comprehensive Plan.

Some planning commissioners voiced caution as the matter moves to the county commission for its consideration Dec. 3. During that meeting, the commission is set to make a final decision, which could include adoption.

If adopted on this timeline, the new fee schedule would become effective April 1.

Board chairman Bill Conerly said he remembers the last time the building industry took a dip and it didn't just affect the building industry.

"I recall it affected all aspects of the economy in Manatee County," Conerly said.

Conerly asked the commission to consider the fiscal impact and vet it "as diligently as possible."

"I have a concern that it could negatively affect the economy of Manatee County," he said.

Planning Commissioner Matthew Bower said he thinks an incremental increase should be considered.

"I personally believe a ladder approach over a three-year period," he said.

In order to update the county impact fees, and possibly reinstate school impact fees, TischlerBise, a Bethesda-Md.-based consulting firm, was hired by the county commission and the Manatee County School District to conduct the study.

With the proposed impact fees from the study, Manatee County could quickly go from one of the counties on the Gulf Coast with the lowest fees to a county with some of the highest.

"I think we all know what no growth means," said Britt Williams, president of Bruce Williams Homes. "We just went through a tough period of no growth. There is no doubt that our recovering economy will be set back if you choose to go forward with these fees as proposed by your consultant. I urge you to look for alternative methods."

This significant increase in the fees would "really significantly negatively impact our economy," Williams said.

"It's a real construction cost," he said. "This proposed increase is not only unfair. It is also way too much for the majority of our buyers to absorb and will no doubt slow down the fragile recovery of the economy."

Morgan Bentley, a lawyer representing the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, said impact fees have to directly benefit the development that is paying for it.

"We just want it to be tied to what we are creating," he said. "We are not here to pay for general projects. We are not here to pay for deficiencies caused by the recession, which we all recognize. We just want to pay for what we are causing, not for what other people are causing or for what other people are going to use."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Proposal to hike Manatee County impact fees moves to commission in December ."